Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker will soon be sworn in as the 83rd president of the Georgia Municipal Association, the lobbying, education and training organization for cities in Georgia.

Bodker, who has served as Johns Creek mayor since its incorporation in 2006, will be sworn in June 28 during GMA’s annual convention in Savannah.

“I look forward to being an advocate for municipal government in Georgia, and will work tirelessly to promote the best interests of all our cities,” Bodker said. “If our cities are healthy, our state is healthy. As go the cities, so goes the state.”

Serving as GMA president will benefit Johns Creek, Bodker said.

“I’ll get to tell the story of Johns Creek over and over again,” he said. “This means exposure for the city and will lead to more economic development. Johns Creek was blessed, first, to become a city, and, second, to show what young cities are capable of achieving in a short period of time.”

As president of GMA, Bodker will be the spokesman for Georgia’s cities, and will make appointments to various GMA boards. He said his primary concerns will be to promote innovation that allows cities to do more with fewer resources.

Bodker is currently a partner in Johns Creek-based nexDimension Technology Solutions, a business-efficiency consulting firm. 

Bodker was born in Suffern, New York. He moved to metro Atlanta when he was 5 years old and went on to graduate from Lakeside High School. 

He earned a BBA in Accounting from the University of Georgia.

Shortly after moving to the north Fulton area in 1998, he became involved in community affairs, first as president of his homeowners association, The Communities of Wellington, and later as a board member of the Johns Creek Community Association. 

Through his work with the JCCA, he was appointed chair of the Northeast Fulton Study Committee (NEFSCO) and subsequently also served as chairman of the Committee for Johns Creek. Those organizations helped study and eventually promote the referendum vote for cityhood. 

Citizens on July 18, 2006, voted to create the city of Johns Creek, and Bodker was elected its first mayor on Nov. 7, 2006. Bodker took office Dec. 1, and is now in his third term.

Since his election, Bodker has spearheaded the formation of the North Fulton Municipal Association and served as its inaugural chairman. He also served as the chairman of the Metro Atlanta Mayors Association, and on the board of directors and treasurer of the Atlanta Regional Commission.

Mayor Bodker also has served as vice chair of the Tourism, Arts, Parks, and Entertainment & Sports Standing Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He has been on the boards of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and on the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce.

Created in 1933, the Georgia Municipal Association is the only state organization that represents municipal governments in Georgia. Based in Atlanta, GMA is a voluntary, nonprofit organization that provides legislative advocacy, educational, employee benefit and technical consulting services to its members.

GMA’s membership currently totals 521 municipal governments, accounting for more than 99% of the state’s municipal population.